Category Archives: Fixed Gear

I rode my 2.44 Motobecane for a grocery run today. After a nice break and in the frigid wind I had a tenancy to bust out and burn – both with acceleration and deceleration. Had to tone it down a bit after avoiding a minivan that drifted past it’s stop sign.

My fantasy goal with riding fixed gear bikes is to ride like MIB cars. Not the movie kind, but depictions of theories of alien MIB cars. Moving in defiance of inertia. Erie and unnatural shifts in velocity. I think I achieved a bit of that today.

I’ve enjoyed a week of early morning commutes, near-clear roads free of the daytime noise and mania. Conditions where so ideal I broke my average speed record at 17.5 mph last Thursday.

The east-bound right lanes of Manitou Avenue are badly damaged so I ride the center lane until I reach new pavement after the Highway 24 overpass. Never a problem.

This morning, being Saturday, I’d expected even less traffic – and there was. I drifted into a high velocity meditation of pace and surface scan. Suddenly a Jeep jolted out in front of two approaching Incline commuters who braked and swerved into my middle lane.

I braked and swerved to the broken edge and looked back to see another car approaching behind me. It was at a safe distance, I was lucky but embarrassed that I didn’t check my six and five before swerving.

It was just so strange to suddenly be surrouded by five cars from out of nowhere.